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THE LIMITS OF DOUBLE NEGATION IN ETHICS: A SHIFT TO CONTEXTUAL AND NON-CLASSICAL LOGICS
Abstract
The study aims at providing a logical analysis of the principles of practical ethics such as ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’ or ‘Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of justice’, which are often applied without deep analysis. To achieve this aim, the study is structured into two sections. The first section, arguing that these principles, though seemingly contradictory, share common logical grounds rooted in classical logic’s laws: double negation, the law of excluded middle, and the law of non-contradiction, explores the logical underpinnings of such ethical principles, analyzing their function within binary logical systems. Demonstrating that while these principles hold in binary contexts, the section argues that they struggle to accommodate the complexity of ethical scenarios where binary logic proves insufficient. Accordingly, double negation, crucial in dichotomous predicates, falters in situations involving vagueness or moral nuance, where non-classical logics like fuzzy or intuitionistic logic offer more flexibility. The second section argues that classical binary logic fails to capture the gradations of moral reasoning, exemplified by dilemmas like the Trolley Problem, and that virtue ethics, which emphasizes context and practice, aligns better with these alternative logical systems. The study concludes that a shift to non-classical logics is necessary to address the complexities of ethical reasoning, highlighting the inseparability of moral theory and practice.
Keywords
References
- Anscombe, G. E. M. (1958). “Modern Moral Philosophy.” Philosophy, 33(124), pp. 1–19.
- Aristotle. (1998). Metaphysics. Trans. Hugh Lawson-Tancred. Penguin Books.
- Aristotle. (2004). Nicomachean Ethics. Trans. & Ed. R. Crisp. Cambridge University Press.
- Bara, B., Goss, P. G. (1988). “A Fuzzy Approach to the Interpretation of Vague Terms in Natural Language.” Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 27(2), pp. 151-168.
- Feldman, F. (1986). Doing the Best We Can: An Assay in Informal Deontic Logic. D. Reidel Publishing Company.
- Heyting, A. (1983). “The Intuitionist Foundations of Mathematics.” In Philosophy of Mathematics: Selected Readings, (Eds. Paul Benacerraf, Hilary Putnam). Cambridge University Press, pp. 52-61.
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Epistemology, Logic, Applied Ethics
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Early Pub Date
October 23, 2025
Publication Date
October 27, 2025
Submission Date
December 18, 2024
Acceptance Date
May 15, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2025 Volume: 12 Number: 2
APA
Birgül, O. G. (2025). THE LIMITS OF DOUBLE NEGATION IN ETHICS: A SHIFT TO CONTEXTUAL AND NON-CLASSICAL LOGICS. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 12(2), 530-545. https://doi.org/10.69878/deuefad.1603918
AMA
1.Birgül OG. THE LIMITS OF DOUBLE NEGATION IN ETHICS: A SHIFT TO CONTEXTUAL AND NON-CLASSICAL LOGICS. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi. 2025;12(2):530-545. doi:10.69878/deuefad.1603918
Chicago
Birgül, Osman Gazi. 2025. “THE LIMITS OF DOUBLE NEGATION IN ETHICS: A SHIFT TO CONTEXTUAL AND NON-CLASSICAL LOGICS”. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 12 (2): 530-45. https://doi.org/10.69878/deuefad.1603918.
EndNote
Birgül OG (October 1, 2025) THE LIMITS OF DOUBLE NEGATION IN ETHICS: A SHIFT TO CONTEXTUAL AND NON-CLASSICAL LOGICS. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 12 2 530–545.
IEEE
[1]O. G. Birgül, “THE LIMITS OF DOUBLE NEGATION IN ETHICS: A SHIFT TO CONTEXTUAL AND NON-CLASSICAL LOGICS”, Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 530–545, Oct. 2025, doi: 10.69878/deuefad.1603918.
ISNAD
Birgül, Osman Gazi. “THE LIMITS OF DOUBLE NEGATION IN ETHICS: A SHIFT TO CONTEXTUAL AND NON-CLASSICAL LOGICS”. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 12/2 (October 1, 2025): 530-545. https://doi.org/10.69878/deuefad.1603918.
JAMA
1.Birgül OG. THE LIMITS OF DOUBLE NEGATION IN ETHICS: A SHIFT TO CONTEXTUAL AND NON-CLASSICAL LOGICS. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi. 2025;12:530–545.
MLA
Birgül, Osman Gazi. “THE LIMITS OF DOUBLE NEGATION IN ETHICS: A SHIFT TO CONTEXTUAL AND NON-CLASSICAL LOGICS”. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, vol. 12, no. 2, Oct. 2025, pp. 530-45, doi:10.69878/deuefad.1603918.
Vancouver
1.Osman Gazi Birgül. THE LIMITS OF DOUBLE NEGATION IN ETHICS: A SHIFT TO CONTEXTUAL AND NON-CLASSICAL LOGICS. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi. 2025 Oct. 1;12(2):530-45. doi:10.69878/deuefad.1603918